INDIANAPOLIS – The Knicks haven’t been good enough on the road regardless of who is playing. Add to that the absences of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis — and the Knicks were just noncompetitive and getting waxed by the Pacers.

The Knicks (11-12) lost for the fifth time in six games Monday – 115-97 in Indiana – and dipped to under-.500 for the first time since Nov. 1, when they were 3-4.

The Knicks are once again a losing team.

But no defeat this season felt more lopsided than Monday’s, as the Knicks were basically obliterated from the opening tip. The deficit was 13 in the first quarter, then 29 in the second, then 38 in the third. The Knicks never led. It hardly resembled basketball.

It reached the point that Jeff Hornacek pulled all his starters for good just 2½ minutes into the third quarter.

“We were playing bad,” said Michael Beasley, who took Porzingis’ spot in the lineup. “That’s what the coach is supposed to do. Put guys in the game that at least look like they want to play.”

Myles Turner shoots around Knicks forward Michael Beasley.

(Michael Conroy/AP)

Beasley’s carelessness with the ball was an issue again Monday, as he committed five turnovers in just 14 minutes. Jeff Hornacek spoke before the game about the forward’s ill-advised passes, then watched his warning go unheeded on the court.

“I just got to be better,” said Beasley.

But mostly, this was about a defense that had more holes than Kyrie Irving’s flat-earth theory. The Knicks allowed Indiana (13-11) to shoot 54%, with Thaddeus Young dropping a game-high 20 points. It was over by the time Pacers guard Lance Stephenson was galloping around the court in the second quarter to celebrate his bucket.

If this is life without Hardaway Jr. and Porzingis, the Knicks better hope their top scorers are cleared soon. The alternatives haven’t looked very promising. Enes Kanter, who played especially poorly (the Knicks were outscored by 34 points when he was on the court), was part of the lineup that Hornacek pulled in the third quarter.

“When he takes all five out that means we’re not competing out there,” Kanter said. “Yeah (I wanted to go back in), but I can’t do nothing about it. Take me out, take me out. Take everybody out. He’s the boss.”

Jeff Hornacek reacts to a call during the first half.

(Michael Conroy/AP)

Led by Willy Hernangomez, the substitutes made the final score somewhat respectable by winning the fourth quarter, 32-20. Hornacek said he simply gave up on the game.

“The writing was on the wall so I gave those other guys a chance,” the coach said.

Porzingis (sprained ankle) could be ready by Wednesday’s home game against the Grizzlies. Hardaway Jr.’s status is a lot trickier, since he requires further tests to uncover the source of his lower leg pain. So far, the Knicks have characterized it as a “stress reaction.”

The Knicks, meanwhile, had no reaction to the Pacers, who had six players score in double-digits by the end of the third quarter. Hornacek subbed often – going 13-deep with his rotations – but different combinations just compounded the problems. Even Joakim Noah got some run in the fourth quarter, finishing with three points, three assists and four boards in eight minutes.

The Knicks’ third leading scorer on the season, Courtney Lee, had flu-like symptom and played like it Monday, scoring just eight points in 20 minutes. The one stat the Knicks dominated was bench scoring, 58 to 38.